Wednesday, September 16, 2009

My major crafty item I made for, er--my swap friend--is done! Finished! Brought to fruition! Complete! I just wish I could share it. It is by far, one of my favorite things I have made. I love it's simplicity! It's style! I want to keep it!

But I can't. It wouldn't be right.

I haven't had a chance to take photos yet. I will. And I'll post them--after she receives it.

The Little Mermaid art quilt is 10% done...meaning, I have cut out my fabric pieces. I know, I know. I should be further along. I've been beating around this bush for months. (I started planning in June.) I hope this means it'll be amazing. More realistically, it just means I'm lazy.

As always, I've been spending my time cleaning. Instead of creating. I got a new toy (a steam mop and hand held steam spray bottle), and I've been spending my time sanitizing random things. (I cleaned off the top of my fridge!) Ah, the joys of domesticity...

I'm such a sucker for cleaning tools/accessories/etc. I was this close to buying a Sham-wow. ("You'll be saying 'wow' everytime.") Luckily, my sister was suckered into that one, and I was able to see it "work" first hand. (It didn't.) They know how to get you, though. They play on the housewife's deep desire to someday have everything done. Reality is, it's never done. The house--the world, really--is forever changing. You can't freeze time, and you can't clean a house once and never have to do it again. This is life.

Ah, I'm just rambling, now. I'm tired, itchy (I had an allergic reaction to something. On my face.), and I have had the same recurring headache for the last few days.

Monday, September 14, 2009

I've been following a few blogs that participate in Menu Planning Monday. I've been planning my menus for a few years now, so I thought I would toss my menu into the mix! This is what the crew is eating the next few days:

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Every year I wait until the last minute to plan for Halloween--then throw a few things together with half-assed effort. It isn't as if the holiday means nothing to me. I love Autumn, and the festivities it brings.

Maybe this stems from my childhood. Every September, my mom would groan and throw her hands up, as store displays of Halloween decorations and costumes started to appear. "They start earlier and earlier every year," she would say, complaining about the merchandising. (She would also say this the beginning of November, when Halloween goodies were replaced with tinsel and jingle bells.)

I don't know what her beef was with holiday store displays.

So, I never think to start planning for Halloween in September--until this year. Searches and sales on Halloween items are up on Etsy, showing most shoppers are planning now. They aren't like me, waiting for the last minute to throw up some fake cobwebs and plastic skeletons. (Incidentally, I have the cobwebs taken care of already. My front door is framed with them. Real ones.)

Yada, yada, blah blah blah--the point is this: I'm working on a few Halloween type things. For instance, I just listed the ornament pictured above. So, if you are doing your Halloween shopping early....

Friday, September 11, 2009

I am still tinkering away at the Mermaid art quilt. One more step down. I have traced all the different elements onto iron-on adhesive. (For added durability--and to prevent my edges from unraveling!) I'd been in my workshop right now, except that there are two strangers up there, fixing my water heater.

But....

Did you catch that? I'd be up in my workshop? I CLEANED IT!!!!!! It is a fully functional studio now!!! There is only one little problem left, though, which needs to be addressed. Well, it's in a bonus room above the garage. (That's not the problem.) It is in a room that is hot in the summer, cold in the winter. There is a duct going into the room, but either it is blocked, or just not enough--whatever the case may be, the room is not climate controlled. So, I need to get a fan to keep it cool during the afternoons (when the sun is BLARING), and I'll just have to bundle up during the winter. At any rate, even as I marvel at it's awesomeness, I know in a few months it will no longer be mine, and I'll have to find a new place to house my stockpile of supplies. (We're renting the house we are in, and plan on buying a new house in the spring.) It will all work out though, and for now, I will enjoy what I have!....and I'll post pictures next week. For obvious reasons (the men fixing the water heater) I can't take pictures now.

I do have other photos, though. Since Halloween is at the end of next month, and because I found it as I was straightening my things, I am listing this funky quilt I made a while back. It is available for sale at my shop, for anyone who is interested. (I'll knock off 10% if you buy it and say you saw it here! But, shh, don't tell anyone else!)

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

I'm participating in a swap over at the North Georgia Street Team (heard of them? If not, I must not be talking enough about 'em). I got my secret swap partner, and though she may not read my blog--or know that I exist--I am doing something very special for her, indeed! I will post pictures after I know that she has received it, but for now, I can only tell you the theme is "comfort."

And, of course, since I'll be sending out a package, I'll be receiving one, too. Oh, and all the ladies involved are SOOOO talented! I am dying of anticipation!

I still haven't technically started on my challenge item for this month. I'm doing the Siren of the Sea, which I will be calling "The Little Mermaid"--the challenge theme is "fairytales"--I had to make her bigger, which I did, and now I need to start cutting out pieces. This will happen SOON.

I'm not sure if I'm going to submit her, though. Fairytales...so many cool things I can do with a theme like that. If I have time, I might make an alternate item.

So, yep. No pictures just yet. My current project is a secret. My next project, not really started. Who knows about the third. Things will start appearing, though. I need to get into a rhythm, and once that happens--BAM!! A multitude of crafty goodness.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

...time for the North Georgia Street Team Challenge! (Try saying that five times fast.)

This month's them is Candy! (CandycandyCANDY!!) I have entered my "Sweet Tote" into this months challenge. I encourage you to check it out. You don't have to vote for me (I'm #7!) but definitely check it out! Team NorGA (our nickname) is filled with talented artisans. You won't be sorry!

Oh, and I forgot the best part...if you vote, you will be entered into a drawing. Two lucky people will walk away with a grab bag of goodies made by our crafters.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Maybe you are wondering this. Maybe not. Well, here is the short answer--I'm working on working on it.

I've decided the mermaid needs to be bigger. There are lots of smaller pieces on her, and it just won't translate well onto fabric, soooo, I'm just going to enlarge her--just a bit!

As you noticed, though, I have been working on other projects as I've been putting her off. I have other ideas, and being the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, I'll probably be distracted again at least once or twice before any real progress is made on the quilt. (Makes things interesting, don't you think?)

I've been settling back into a school year routine. Less cleaning (since the kids aren't here messing things up), and more quiet time. While I do find I have more uninterrupted chunks of time, I have also volunteered for a myriad of things having to do with the kid's school and Cub Scouts, so, as usual, I'll still be juggling quite a few balls...but we should be good!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

I just completed a treasury for the North Georgia Etsy Street Team. That treasury can be found here. If you like teal, or gold, or the wonderful state of Georgia, please check it out! The members of the NorGa Street Team are a talented bunch, and their items are oh, so cool!

Friday, July 17, 2009

First of all, my Jekyll Island photos can be viewed here. Too much hassle uploading them all to blogger!

Second of all, I posted a ton of pictures on my other blog, in case you were interested!

We had a lot of fun at Jekyll Island, but things definitely didn't go as planned. First of all, we had planned on camping--rain prevented this. We ended up having to spend money on a hotel.

Downside? Expensive. Upside? We were right on the beach and could see the ocean from our room's balcony.

Since we were planning on camping, I had packed a ton of food to cook by campfire. Since we no longer had a campfire, that idea went out the window...but not before we tried to do some cooking at a picnic site. Again, we were very close to the beach (it's hard not to be on an island), but, alas, it rained. On our picnic. After we had already started to burn our small $6 bag of charcoal. Sooo, we waited it out. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes....but then the wind picked up. A stead wind, which blew so strong it swept the mustard off my hot dog.

That was the last day we cooked out.

So, it was over priced restaurants the remaining days. We spent a fortune on just a few meals. That is a major downside to eating on an island.

While it did rain while we were there, it wasn't a sustained rain. It would rain for a few minutes, followed by long periods of slightly cloudy skies with brief peaks of sunshine. We were able to sight-see and even swam in the Atlantic Ocean.

By far, the highlight of my trip was a surprise encounter with some dolphins. I was walking the beach with my kids, when suddenly, some dolphins broke through the water in the distance. They swam closer, so close that if I were to jump into the water, I could swam to them. I shouted excitedly, "look kids! Dolphins!!!" They were so close! Such a great photo opportunity! I reached for my camera--and it wasn't there. It was back in the hotel room, in my husband's cargo pocket. :( What a fish story, huh?

Oh, and, I got pinched by a crab while swimming. Made my toe bleed! Damn crabs.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Don't have a picture, but know this: I am now growing my own vegetables. What is in my garden, you may ask? Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers, basil, and parsley. I also have some icebox watermelons and sweet potato vines, but being an inexperienced gardener, I'm not sure how they will fair. The sweet potatoes are in a deep container, and the watermelon...well, let's just call this an experiment. I know the watermelons grow vines, which holds the fruit. Why not a container, then, and let the fruit rest on the patio? We'll see. If it doesn't work, I've learned a lesson!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

As some of you may (or may not) know, I'm part of an Etsy Street team which promotes sellers in the North Georgia Area. (The North Georgia Etsy Street Team) Every month we have contests and bios to promote our members. This month it's Miss Moose's turn! Check out the NorGA blog for her bio, and a chance to win a pair of earrings. How do you win? Simple--just go to her bio, leave a comment telling what you like about buttons. You could win!

Monday, July 13, 2009

It's a little late (okay, a lot late), but here is it is--what we did for the Fourth of July. (Jekyll Island show-and-tell is going to be later...)

As I've mentioned before, we spent our nation's birthday up at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, at my husband's step mom's sister's house. (We just call her "Aunt Kate.") She lives in a BEAUTIFUL house on a lake, and we are always excited to visit--Not just because she has a cool house and a private dock--she's pretty cool, too!! :-)

At any rate, it was my family (John, me, Sean, Aaron and Maggie), Grandpa Bob and Grandma Anne (John's dad and step mom), Tim and his girlfriend, Danielle (Tim is John's brother), and Kate. Great group of people to spend Independence Day with!

While we were there, we spent a lot of time in the lake. Below, Grandpa is wading in the water with Aaron and Maggie.

Kate has a lot of carp living under her dock. Here, she fed the fish with Aaron and Maggie.

Maggie shared some triscuits with me...

John's dad rented a party boat for us on the 4th.

The kids were a little...apprehensive.

Eventually, they started to have fun.

...and relax.Aaron even went tubing with Uncle Tim.

Those are Uncle Tim's feet.

There were many, many more pictures, but it takes so long to upload and rearrange the pictures on here, you'll just have to go to my flickr album to see the rest.

Milk for the kiddies and tea for me!Someone wants seconds! (I should have probably put up her hair today...)Aaron and I made these paper flowers out of grocery bags, plastic beads, utility wire, and florist tape!Mmmm...The cup being used by Aaron (pictured above and below) was a gift from a good friend of mine a long time ago! Isn't it the coolest?All done! Maybe I can get my guests to help clean up?Paper flower tutorial can be found here.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Thanks to FoxyGKnits for this award! You can find her at FoxyGKnit's Den of I-Knit-Quity, and at her shop, FoxyGKnits. Foxy G makes the most beautiful shawls and scarfs! She uses quality yarn, and put lots of time in to each of her creation! (And she is an extremely funny lady!)

My turn to pass on some love.

Here are the rules: Accept the award, and post it on your blog, along with the name of the person who bestowed it and a link to his or her blog. Pass the award on to 15 blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to notify the bloggers that they have been chosen for this award.

This blog was started a looooong time ago to brag about my family and my knitting--both of which are rarely blogged about here. So, I created a new blog--for the family and for the hobbies I have which do not bring in any revenue!

Find it here and bookmark or subscribe--I plan on putting a lot of fun stuff on it!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

For awhile now I've been working with an old (very old) version of Paint Shop Pro for my photo edits, etc. I've felt limited by my aged software, and decided, after receiving a $30 off coupon at Costco for Adobe Photo Shop Elements 7, I'd make the change. So, I'm currently fooling around with it. As usual, this new technology has me a little befuddled, but I am slowly learning. I've already made a picture! Alright, so it's not a Michaelangian work or art, but I just playing! :)